AFK – Sunset Sessions: December 2010

The fall turning into winter is all about change, as is this mix. Change is all around us as leaves fell before snow, students go back to school, clothing adjusts for the inevitable cold, and some of us even decide to re-do what our lives mean to us. I did this mix in the midst of all these things – while hanging out with a cat named Toaster, while taking time out between snowboard sessions on Whistler and Blackcomb, while sitting in cafes in Victoria, and while floating back and forth between the mainland and this rock in the Pacific Ocean.

You’ll notice my new Jets Overhead remix in the tracklisting.. one of my favourite tracks from Jets Overhead’s excellent No Nations album. The original version of Fully Shed is very much worth checking out. It’s full of great melodies, ambience and texture, and of course the unmistakable vocals of Antonia Freybe-Smith. With so many great parts to work with, this remix was quite a treat to work on.

Something else evident in this mix is the inclusion of some samples of Helen Beebee talking about the Laws of Nature. The samples are severely out of context, but I like the continuity of philosophy they give to the beginning and the end of the mix. If you have time, you should have a listen to her talk on Philosophy Bites. Philosophy is something I strangely got hooked on from business school, something that matched the way I think in a way I could not have predicted. I like analyzing, asking questions, and challenging my own way of thinking (as well as others, but that is not always as rewarding). The initial challenge from Beebee is not answered by the music, but the music provides a soundtrack for an exploration for whomever is interested. Most simply, I enjoy the way her voice sounds when asking these questions.

I took the image above (and on the mp3 itself) late in the day on Blackcomb. Whistler sits beneath the sinking sun.

My contemporaries are listening to classic rock, the stuff we heard on the radio when we were young.
To misquote David Bryne, “Heard it once, why hear it again”.
I am loading your mixes for a long road trip, i like them a lot.